The Dark Duels
by Atemusluckygal
Summary: Yami awakes in a hospital bed, with no memory of what happened to him, where he is, or even who his friends are. He must seek out the evil force which reduced him to an injured hospital patient fighting amnesia, and defeat it. But not alone. YamixTea.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!.**

"**The Dark Duels"**

**CHAPTER ONE**

"… _and what are we going to show him? We all know he isn't going to be mentally stable enough to handle the round in the Dark field."_

"_He probably doesn't even remember. The doctor said it's likely he'll suffer amnesia. He even says there's no guarantee that it's only temporary."_

"_Still, he'll be asking questions, we'll have to tell him eventually… he'll want to know what happened…"_

Though Yami's muddled brain had finally returned to partial consciousness, his eyes refused to recover as quickly upon opening, as the faces surrounding him were still unrecognizable blurs. He sensed that, due to heavy injury or medication, he was as good as paralyzed from the neck down, and could faintly feel the papery material of a hospital sheet gown against the bare skin of his shoulders.

Yami quickly realized that it was currently impossible for him to see, move, or speak. It was a completely helpless position, and he despised being in it. He didn't recognize where he was, or who all these people were. Their voices were indiscernible. Nothing was familiar. It was frightening him, but luckily, the muscles in his face were too reluctant to show it.

A male voice spoke. "He's awake." A flurry of nods and whispers broke out amongst the group of strangers.

Then, a female's voice rang above the murmur. "Yami, how are you feeling?"

The voice was so gentle and pure; Yami had to seek out its owner. He heard it from his left, and, without moving his head, shifted his eyes towards the voice. The female was a young woman, possibly in her early twenties, with chocolate brown hair and oceanic blue eyes. She was truly lovely – at least, of what Yami could see of her. Unfortunately, he had no idea who she was.

Yami let a small groan through his nose to test his voice, and opened his mouth to speak hoarsely, "I think I'm good." Truth was, he had no idea. The sensation in his body was almost all numbed. It was impossible for him to assess himself. The cracks in his voice didn't make him sound any better than he looked.

The brunette woman spoke again, "do you know who I am? Who we all are?"

Observing the group of people looking at him, Yami took in the characteristics of the people at his bedside he could glean from his still sedated vision. Two tall young men, one blonde and the other brunette, stood beside each other on his right. The blonde appeared more alert and protective, while the brunette wore a look that was more like passive concern. Both were quite masculine in their own respects.

Then there was the girl. The one with the deep brown tresses dangling on the sides of her fair pearly face. The striking blue eyes. The voice as angelic as a songbird in the heart of spring. The looks of helpless despair on her face that spelled constant worry. Even if he still couldn't put a name to her face, her company and close proximity was rather comforting.

"I… don't know…" he manages to croak.

She sighed, disappointed, but understanding. "We're your friends, Yami. Your best friends."

"Téa," interjected the brunette male. Their silent communication was a telltale sign that there was something more to tell… something deeper that existed. Regrettably, Yami could not place the memories.

Almost everything before waking up in this hospital bed had been wiped clean or, optimistically, it lied somewhere dormant in the back of his brain. Still, he felt awful for not being able to remember who they were if they were apparently so close to him. Truthfully, he had close to no idea what was going on, but was somehow aware that he had lost his memory. The cause of it remained a mystery, but somehow he could feel the vibes of closeness with them, perhaps by their behavior and body language. Their looks of concern. How they reacted with hopefulness when Yami moved, spoke, or otherwise had shown any sign of life.

"Not now, Tristan," the girl called Téa sternly replied. "Later. I'll tell him later. We have to bring him back slowly, so we don't overwhelm him."

"Tell me what?" Yami had to try; the curiosity of what this secret was, what this whole situation was, nagged at him. He didn't want it slow. He wanted to know everything. Now.

Téa turned to Yami, and now that his eyes were finally adjusting, Yami could take in more detail of her – the wispiness of her bangs as she brushed them from her eyes, dried tear tracks from evident crying in the immediately recent past, and the slight shade of pink that touched her cheeks as she whispered, "I'll tell you later, don't worry. I know how much you hate it when things are kept from you."

Still groggy and unable to speak or move any joints without concerted effort, Yami decided to close his eyes and wait for this secret to be revealed later. The important thing was recollecting who he was, where he was, and who all these people were. This girl seemed to know him well, because she was right. He hated secrets.

Just as his mind was about to give away to slumber, another male voice entered Yami's ears, awaking him with a start. It was Dr. Evergreene, swooping in the room in his long white lab coat and half-moon glasses, clipboard in hand and somewhat of a forced merriment in his voice.

"Oh good, he's awake!" cheered Dr. Evergreen, with a quirky smile and a cock of his head to the left. "How are you doin' there, Yami? Feeling any pain? Want something to drink?"

For some reason, the doctor's entrance had really thrown Yami off. After having been woken up to a setting of quiet distress and sincere worry on the faces of his "friends", an obviously overly jolly demeanor certainly shifted the mood in an uncomfortable way. It was as if he were masking an awful truth that he eventually had to break to him. Everyone around him seemed so secretive. It was disconcerting at best.

"I'm fine," Yami finally answered, relieved that his voice had lost the raw edginess to it. "I don't feel anything, really."

"Do you remember anything?"

There. That was the damning question that everyone wanted to ask, everyone wanted to know the specific answer to.

Yami thought carefully before responding. He realized, amidst the confusion of the people surrounding him, that he actually could recall a few pieces of information about himself.

"My name is Yugi Motou. I'm twenty-one years old and I like to play Duel Monsters. I live in Domino City." That was about all he could think of. And as he spoke, a strange wave of familiarity hit him. That was who he was… _sort of_. But there was more to him than what he had just declared.

Dr. Evergreene scribbled something on his clipboard while muttering a pleased, drawn-out "okay" over the scratching of his pencil.

"Excellent! You know who you are. That's more than I hoped for. Do you know who these people are?"

His view panned out to his companions at his bedside, all watching him closely, with expressions he could not read.

"They are my friends." Obviously, he only knew because Téa told him so. "My… best friends."

More scribbling. He pointed to Téa. "Do you know who _she_ is?"

Téa immediately cast a nervous glance towards the doctor, the blush on her face darkening. Her expression turned to that of discomfort when Yami sighed and shook his head.

"She's my best friend too, right?"

Téa pursed her lips nervously. More scribbling. The silence, aside from the scratching of Dr. Evergreene's pencil, was most distressing. There was something Yami was supposed to know, but it was all blank.

"Don't worry sweetheart, he's doing much better than I thought. The way I see it, he'll remember eventually. Just give him time."

And with a final approving nod, Dr. Evergreene left the room.

Tristan and the blonde man stood up as well. "We should step out, too," said the blonde, with some sort of accent that elongated his vowels in strange ways. They left, too. This left Yami and Téa alone in the room, with Téa scratching her upper arm with apprehensive fingers.

"What am I missing?" asked Yami, trying to hide the growing impatience in his voice. "What's going on?"

Téa met his gaze, staring straight into those curious violet eyes; her lip began to quiver, ever so slightly. Yami only had half a second to catch it before she placed a hand on his right cheek, leaned over and kissed him on the mouth.

Once the shock from the abrupt and unexpected move was over, the kiss ended up being everything a cup of hot chocolate was, and more; warm, pleasantly sweet, and filled his belly with wholesome heat and goodness.

Then a strange phenomenon occurred – it was as if her kiss was a spell that sent him tumbling through a world of memories with her. Many brief visions entered his mind, flashing by a few seconds at a time – a pair of hands held as their owners strolled on the sidewalk of downtown Domino. He and Téa kissing in the park. Riding the Ferris wheel together. Giving her flowers for an unspecified occasion. Making love to her on her bed of pink sheets and white pillows. It was as intense as it was fulfilling. He knew who Téa was to him now.

His girlfriend, his lover, his everything.

Exactly how long they had been together, he wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. No amnesia of any severity could make him forget how much he loved her.

"Téa Gardner," Yami whispered with a smile. Téa's face lit up like a fireworks show, her eyes as sparkling as he finally remembered them.

-TO BE CONTINUED-


End file.
